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Editor's Note: This series takes a close-up
look at the SBA's economic "clusters" designed to aid regional
businesses. Read installments on Minnesota and
the
Carolinas.

In Silicon Valley, entrepreneurs grow countless iPhone apps. A
few miles to the south, in the Monterey Bay, Calif., area, the
harvest is just as plentiful, if a bit more nutritious: Large
farmers grow huge quantities of leafy greens and berries.

Sprouting from those fields is the Project 17 Agricultural
Technology cluster, which aims to bring both sides together --
the small tech entrepreneurs and the region's big farms -- to
keep the agriculture industry thriving. Project 17 is part of a
two-year-old Small Business Administration pilot program designed to spark innovation
and get small businesses growing again.

The region's $8 billion agriculture industry, which produces in
excess of 80 percent of the nation's fresh greens every year, is
ripe for innovation,
says Susan Barich, the cluster's director. Large growers like
Dole, Driscoll’s, Monterey Mushrooms and Chiquita, which have
farms in the area, have been forced to sell produce at lower
prices over the past decade, putting a squeeze on profits, she
said. As a result, more growers are looking to tech entrepreneurs
to come up with ways to make the industry more efficient. In a
sense, "we are helping to create an industry," she says.

Project 17, which has received $1.2 million worth of funding from
the SBA over the past 2 years, is perfectly situated to bridge
the agriculture and technology
gap. The Monterey Bay region is a short drive away from Silicon
Valley, and home to a smattering of heavyweight research
institutions, including the University of California at Davis’s
agricultural research programs.

The cluster is named for a trifecta of local "17s," including
nearby Highway 17, its 17th Congressional District, and a scenic
17-mile route through Carmel and the Pacific Grove.

In its first year, the Project 17 cluster provided more than
5,000 hours of business mentoring to small businesses in
workshops and one-on-one consulting. It also produced a
business-plan competition with 62 small-business participants;
created two “think tank sessions” where small
agriculture-technology businesses met with the large agricultural
businesses in their market; and helped four small businesses sell
technologies to companies in their industry.

In its first year (second year data is still being tallied),
Project 17 reported that it helped small businesses in the region
and industry gain access to nearly $48 million of capital, create
285 new jobs, and retain 114 jobs.

For example, Chris Malençon, the founder and CEO of Spyglass BioSecurity, a Marina, Calif.,
water management and research company, says his connection
with Project 17 helped him understand the specific water needs
of the agriculture industry. He says he's also used Project 17
to network with “key stakeholders” in the industry, according
to the cluster's annual report.

Jack and Catherine Goldwasser, the owners of Watch Technologies, an agricultural-water
technology company that designs, manufactures and installs
water-canal gates, also credit Project 17's connections with
growing their business, according to the report. They're
expecting a projected profit of $300,000 in 2012 after being
nonprofitable just a couple of years earlier. Watch
Technologies has hired 4 new employees and Jack Goldwasser
says he has had to work 18 to 20 hour days to keep up with
growing demand.